


Ghost Memories

by imcrapatthiswritingshitbutitry



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Nico di Angelo Needs a Hug, Nico di Angelo has a Fear of Storms, No Smut, Sad Nico di Angelo, i never know what to tag these
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25851499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imcrapatthiswritingshitbutitry/pseuds/imcrapatthiswritingshitbutitry
Summary: Nico has a fear of thunderstorms because of the way his mother was killed. His boyfriend, Will Solace, helps out (along with Piper and Percy).
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 5
Kudos: 103





	Ghost Memories

**Author's Note:**

> This is literally something I just knocked together when I was bored, so.. yano.. enjoy I guess.

It was late in the evening, just past curfew, and Will was on the way back from his shift at the infirmary. Since the war with Gaea, the camp had expanded to fit lots more new campers and some Roman demigods, so there were more people coming to the infirmary of the camp and Chiron had agreed to expand it as well as help timetable shifts for all the healers. He’d helped convince the Harpies not to do anything about Apollo campers walking around at night too. 

Chiron had also spoken to the gods, well, Mr D, and head counsellors of each cabin to adjust the weather of the camp, having the occasional rainy spell and thunderstorm as well as snow in the winter so the year-rounders could experience a more traditional Christmas or other wintery holiday if they wished to. This also helped with the growth of the strawberries as well as keeping the lakes and rivers filled. 

The camp was currently in the middle of a thunderstorm, rain pouring from the sky, thunder crackling overhead. Will had just entered the ring of cabins when there was a flash of lightning and a muffled scream coming from the direction of the Hades cabin. It seemed to echo through the camp, despite not even being that loud, as several campers came running out of their cabins. It was like all of Nico's friends had their ears tuned to listen out for when they were needed. Percy and Annabeth were by Will’s side in an instant along with Jason and Piper. The former couple had run out of the Poseidon cabin, the latter out of the Zeus one. Will didn’t even want to think about what any of them had been up to. 

“What’s going on?” said Jason, frowning. “Was that Nico? Is he okay?” 

“I – I think so,” said Will. “Should we go in?” 

Jason nodded before leading the ‘charge’ to the Hades cabin. Just before he opened the door, however, they stopped. He turned to face the others, still frowning worriedly.

“He won’t want us all to crowd him. Maybe we shouldn’t all just go in like this. Especially not if it’s a nightmare or something, you know.” 

Percy hummed in agreement. He'd had his fair share of Tartarus nightmares too. They all turned to Will, waiting to see what he suggested. They seemed to have deemed him the leader of this quest. 

“Er – okay, I’ll go… then, Piper? Your charmspeak could definitely come in handy. Then, maybe Jason? You are his best friend?” 

They seemed to think through this for a second before Jason shook his head, glancing at Percy. “Nah… take Percy. He knows more about Nico’s – er – past… and plus, you’ll need someone to help if it’s a Tartarus thing, you know. I’ll wait here with Annabeth.” 

Will opened the door after another second, shocked to see the whole place swirling with jet-black shadows. He couldn’t see further than a few centimetres in front of him. Will turned to Piper, a pleading look on his face. He needed her. 

“Nico! Everything is going to be okay,” she called out into the darkness. “Just try and calm down. We’re coming. Try and release your power over the shadows. Try and relax.” 

The shadows receded ever-so-slightly, but Piper’s charmspeak wasn’t as powerful when Nico wasn’t physically attracted to her. The cabin cleared just enough that Will and the others could make out most of the furniture in the room. 

“Go where the shadows are darkest,” said Percy. “That’s probably where he’ll be. They tend to swarm towards him when he's emotional.” 

Will nodded in agreement. “Yeah, he attracts the shadows when he’s scared. I’ve seen it before. He can’t help it. He doesn’t have as much control over his powers as you two.” 

They found Nico curled up by a window, his knees up to his chest, a fist clenched around the velvety black curtain in a tight, vice-like grip. He had a pillow in his lap, his other arm looped around it. Will had unfortunately seen that same expression on his boyfriend’s face several times, but only after nightmares about Tartarus or being outed and hated by the whole camp. Will hated it when his boyfriend looked like that. It was an expression of pure terror. 

Thunder rumbled through the camp and the curled-up figure of Nico let out a whimper. His grip on the curtain tightened, his knuckles whitening with the pressure and he seemed to shrink in on himself even more. 

Percy, Will and Piper exchanged a look. The latter two watched as a look of sudden realisation dawned on Percy’s face. His mouth fell open and sea-green eyes widened in what would’ve been a comical expression in any other situation. 

“Oh, shit,” he said after a second before turning to the other two. He spoke quietly with the occasional glance at Nico’s quivering form, running a hand through his inky-black hair, clearly stressed. “He’s scared of thunderstorms. When he was little, Zeus killed his mum with a lightning bolt. I doubt Nico remembers… it was before the whole Lethe and Lotus Casino thing… but the fear must be, like, ingrained in his brain or something. You can’t forget something like that.” 

“Shit,” said Piper. Will and Percy just nodded in agreement. ‘Shit’ pretty much summed up the whole predicament. “What do we do?” 

“Calm him down, get him breathing,” said Will. “Treat it like one of his nightmares. We won't be able to properly talk to him unless he's calmer.” 

Will led the other two nearer to Nico, Piper using her charmspeak to try and calm him down and loosen his control of the shadows around them. There was another flash of lightning and crackle of thunder and Nico’s eyes shut as he whimpered again. He clearly knew the others were there as he was fighting not to scream again or cry and appear any weaker in front of them. 

“Nico, listen to me,” said Piper, her voice etched with charmspeak. “You’re going to be okay. You need to release the shadows so we can help you.” 

The darkness thinned even more, almost disappearing completely, letting Will get closer to his trembling, frightened boyfriend. Percy and Piper hung back, letting the boys have their privacy. Nico wasn’t as close with either of them as he was with Will and it didn’t feel right to intrude on such a private matter. 

Will crouched down slightly to be nearer to Nico, but didn’t reach out to try and touch him, knowing he probably wouldn’t appreciate that. “Nico, baby. I’m here for you.” 

Nico glanced over, the fear in his eyes finally disappearing slightly. But just then there was a third clap of thunder and he let out a timid yelp, shrinking away and trying to hide his hyperventilating. 

“Can I hug you?” Will asked, hating the helpless feeling building up inside him. 

As soon as those words had left his mouth, Nico latched onto his boyfriend, burying his face in his shoulder. Will felt him shaking slightly so wrapped his arms around him, bringing him closer. Nico jumped as there was another rumble of thunder ringing out through the camp. Will kept his arms tightly around him, running his fingers through Nico’s hair soothingly. 

Slowly but surely, Nico’s panicked breathing calmed a little. He stayed curled up in Will’s arms. The two were now barely aware of Percy and Piper waiting slightly awkwardly behind them. Well, unaware until Percy spoke, making Nico jump again. 

“Pipes and I are gonna head out. We’re here if you need us though, Nico.” 

Nico said nothing. He didn’t even look up, probably too embarrassed. Will knew that was why he wasn’t showing his face, even to him. Nico got nervous and self-conscious very easily after everything he’d been through. He often struggled with lacking in confidence and doubting himself; Will hated that. He loved his boyfriend and he didn’t deserve all of this. 

By this point, Nico was silently sobbing, soaking the shoulder of Will’s T-shirt. He rubbed his back gently, just letting him cry. Although Will’s back was aching and he was getting pins and needles in his legs, the two of them stayed there throughout the rest of the thunderstorm. Will calmed Nico’s whimpers whenever there was thunder or a flash of lightning, talking quietly to him and kissing the top of his head comfortingly. 

“I love you, Neeks, never forget that,” he whispered once the storm started to slow. “I really love you. Are you okay now, baby?” 

Will felt Nico’s head move in a nod. 

“Hey, Death Boy, look at me.” 

Nico looked up slightly, still not showing nearly half his face. There were tear tracks down his cheeks and his eyes were still red and a little puffy. Will recognised the uncertainty, the nervousness, in his chocolate-brown eyes. 

“Baby, it’s okay,” said Will softly, still stroking Nico’s raven-black hair. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

The son of Hades shrugged. “There’s nothing to talk about. I – I don’t remember – I can’t remember.” Tears were running down his cheeks again and Will tenderly rubbed them away with his thumbs. “I… I don’t even know. I’ve just never liked thunderstorms. Ever since we got out the Casino.” 

“Do you – do you remember much about your mother?” Will asked tentatively. Family was always a touchy subject around Nico. 

He shook his head. 

“Do you know how she died?” 

Nico shook his head again, shrugging slightly. 

Will took a deep breath. “I know… and Percy does… he told me just now…” 

He watched as Nico’s face went from confused to shocked to angry in a heartbeat. His eyebrows furrowed and Will could practically see the frustration building up in his eyes. 

“Neeks… don’t be mad – “ 

“No one should know more about me than myself,” snapped Nico. He didn’t shy away from Will, but the son of Apollo could feel the other boy’s muscles tensing. 

“I agree.” 

“I hate it!” Nico ran his hands through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut. He was still crying, but he’d always been more comfortable around Will than other people, so wasn’t trying to hide it too much. 

“Nico, baby, I understand – “ 

“No, you don’t! You have memories, Will! Memories of your family, of your childhood. The earliest thing I properly remember is leaving that damn hotel and my sister dying!” said Nico. The pain was evident in his voice. After a moment of silence, he added, quieter, “See, you can’t possibly understand, Will. And you should be glad of that. Very glad.” 

Nico’s voice cracked, crying again and snuggling up to his boyfriend. 

“I’m sorry, Neeks. I know how hard it all is for you. And… I really wish there was something I could do to help you. You deserve the world and I wish I could give it to you.” 

“There’s no way to get my memory back. I – I might remember tiny portions, you know, like Bob did in Tartarus… but… I’ll never remember, I just have to accept that…” 

Will sighed. “Remember I’m here for you. Is there anything I can do to help?” 

After a couple of seconds of silence, Nico looked up, meeting Will’s eyes with a small smile. “Help me make new memories?” 

Will couldn’t help grinning. “Happily.” 

They sat there, still on the floor, in comfortable silence for what felt like hours, but was probably just minutes. The only noise that could be heard was the gentle pattering of rain as the storm died down. The thunder and lightning had stopped a while ago, so Nico was a lot less jumpy. 

It was another minute or so before Will spoke again, “If you’re curious, I’m sure Percy wouldn’t mind telling you what he knows.” 

Will was certain he’d messed up when Nico said nothing for over a minute. He held his breath, waiting for Nico’s response, which came after another few seconds of silence. “Tell me the truth, Will. How did my mother die?” 

He was completely put on the spot, but he had to answer Nico. After a breath, Will said, “Zeus. He… he sent a lightning bolt. It was meant to kill you and your sister, but Hades protected you.” 

“And he couldn’t protect my mother?” 

“Apparently not. I’m sorry, Nico, I don’t really know. He would have wanted to, you know that. Your dad loved her.” 

Nico didn’t say anything for a while and when he did it was almost inaudible. “That explains why I don’t like thunder and lightning…” 

“There must have been storms when you were out on the streets and stuff.” He knew this was a sensitive topic for Nico too, so was hesitant with how he asked. “How… what did you do then?” 

“I – I’d just go down to the Underworld. I have a room there and dad never asked. I – now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure he knew, but he never brought it up or anything so…” Nico ended with a shrug, not meeting Will’s gaze and the son of Apollo could tell he felt ashamed. Call it doctor’s intuition.

“Neeks, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Everyone has fears. I mean, look at the whole of cabin six. They’re all scared of these tiny little arachnids that don’t even do anything.” 

“Yeah, but they have a reason. Their mum – “

“You have a reason too, di Angelo!” said Will. “A lightning bolt killed your mum. It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember. Stuff like that becomes ingrained in your memory. You don’t choose your fears, Nico. And they’re nothing to be ashamed of, either. I mean, look at everything Percy and Annabeth have been through. And I know for a fact Percy’s scared of drowning now, and Annabeth hates being underground, you know, after the Labyrinth. We have fears for a reason, Neeks. It’s a survival instinct and you don’t have to be embarrassed about that.” 

“Did you plan that speech, Solace?” 

“Shut up, di Angelo.” 

Nico laughed slightly, looping an arm around Will’s neck and bringing him down for a kiss. “Thank you, though,” he said afterwards. “I love you.” 

Will smiled. “Aw, I love you too.”


End file.
